project-v13 posts

While there's still a legal battle going on between Interplay and Bethesda Softworks over the Fallout game IP license that isn't stopping Interplay from launching the Fallout Online web site. The Flash-heavy site is asking folks to sign up for their newsletter and find out if they would like to be beta testers for the post-apocalypse MMO (also known as Project V13). If you can get the web site you can also see some artwork from the game.

Just a recap: Interplay created the Fallout franchise and released the first two RPG games in the series. The publisher sold the rights to the series to Bethesda Softworks but in return got the license to make a Fallout MMO title. Last year Bethesda Softworks sued Interplay claiming Interplay had broken their contract.

[Via Duck and Cover and Blue's News]

On Thursday, Interplay stated in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that Bethesda Softworks had dropped an appeal in its ongoing lawsuit against Interplay over the Fallout license. The dropping of the appeal means that Interplay is free to continue working on their Fallout MMO project (shown above in concept art form) and to sell their older Fallout games.

However, unlike what the fan site Duck and Cover stated on Thursday, Bethesda is still continuing to see this court action through. Our sister site Joystiq reports that a Bethesda PR rep told them, "It's an ongoing legal matter. I don't know where whoever reported that got their information, but it is ongoing and we are going to see how it plays out in court."

For the past several months, publishers Interplay and Bethesda Softworks have been engaging in a court battle over what Interplay can do with the Fallout game licence. Now fan site Duck and Cover is reporting that Bethesda Softworks has decided to drop their appeal of the lawsuit against Interplay.

Just a recap: Bethesda bought the rights to the Fallout game franchise from Interplay several years ago but gave Interplay a license to develop a MMO based on the property. However in 2009, Bethesda filed a lawsuit against Interplay claiming Interplay had failed to get Bethesda's approval for the marketing materials of a re-release of Interplay's old Fallout games. They also sought to terminate Interplay's Fallout MMO plans.

If Duck and Cover's info is true, Bethesda has now decided to drop the lawsuit which likely means that the Fallout MMO game (also known as Project V13) can indeed be developed. Indeed Interplay has already released some concept artwork for the game and some possible screenshots have been leaked as well. We have emailed Bethesda's PR folks for comment.

[Via Blue's News]

Last time we reported on the big Fallout court case between former owner Interplay and current owner Bethesda Softworks, Interplay apparently won a victory with a judge saying it can continue to sell its older Fallout games while continuing to work on their "Project V13" (aka Fallout MMO) game. Now fan site Duck and Cover is reporting that Bethesda is firing back.

According to the site, Bethesda has decided to get a new law firm to handle their court fight. That new legal team has filed an appeal to the injunction decision that was given to Interplay. The report doesn't give Bethesda's reasons for the appeal but it's clear that they are going to fight to keep Interplay from selling the older Fallout titles. As always we will report on any significant decisions in this ongoing court fight.

Remember when Interplay was one of the biggest game developers and publishers there was? Ah, those were the days. However they are over now as the once huge company has been a shadow of its former self as it develops their MMO game "Project V13" which is almost certainly a code name for their long awaited Fallout MMO.

While Interplay works on that game (and fights over the Fallout game rights with Bethesda Softworks in court).they apparently have something else in the works. In a post on the Interplay forums, Project V13 lead Chris Taylor states, "I think I'm allowed to tease and say that just yesterday I was told of a new game. But I can't say anything about it." The big question: Is it a totally original game or one based on the few IPs that Interplay has not sold off yet like Descent or MDK?

[Via Duck and Cover]

Although there is no official statement from either party yet, a post on the Fallout Wikia page claims that Bethesda Softworks has been denied a preliminary injunction in their current court fight against Interplay over the Fallout game license.

As we have reported previously, Bethesda Softworks and its parent company ZeniMax Media have sued Interplay, claiming that Interplay did not have the rights to re-release the previous games in the Fallout series (ZeniMax bought the Fallout IP from Interplay several years ago and of course released Fallout 3 last year). If this new report is correct, Interplay can continue to sell the older games in the series and work on "Project V13" (the name that is being used for Interplay's likely Fallout MMO project) until the lawsuit is settled in court.

[Via No Mutants Allowed]

Interplay has been releasing some concept artwork on their message boards for the MMO game they are officially calling "Project V13" but is actually their attempt at a Fallout MMO. Now a fan site, The Vault Wiki, claims they have secured the first actual in-game screenshots of the long-in-development title.

The screenshots certainly look like the officiallly released concept artwork. The fan site claims they have received the screenshots from an "anonymous, but reliable source." In fact the site claims the screenshots were submitted by Interplay to prove that work on the Fallout MMO game is underway in their current court fight with Fallout's owners Bethesda Softworks.

Earlier this week a Fallout fan site reported via an anonymous Interplay source that Bethesda Softworks has lost a preliminary injunction in their Fallout trademark dispute. Now a post from Interplay's own lawyer on their message board states otherwise, saying, "The Court has not ruled on Bethesda's Motion for Prelminary Injunction." He added that the court ruling is weeks away and that "Interplay will issue an official statement if there is a material development that needs to be addressed."

Meanwhile a new concept piece from "Project V13" has popped up on the message boards. The MMO, which is most likely Interplay's Fallout massively multiplayer game, is still very early in development.

[Via Duck and Cover]

Interplay's long-in-development "Project V13" MMO (which is unofficially their attempt at a Fallout-based MMO title) continues as the publisher also continues its legal fight with current Fallout owner Bethesda Softworks. Fallout fan site No Mutants Allowed has revealed that Bethesda has lost a preliminary injunction in their lawsuit against Interplay for the rights to the game. The info comes from an anonymous Interplay investor known as ""frymuchan" and apparently means that Interplay can continue to work on the game while the court case with Bethesda goes forward.

Because of this legal development, Interplay's official message boards have posted up the first concept artwork for "Project V13". We've taken the liberty of posting up what they have displayed so far on our site. The artwork is very "Fallout-like" but of course the final in-engine game could look different.

Interplay's plans for a Fallout MMO may be taken out of their hands if their latest financial filing is to be believed. Some of you may remember that Interplay sold off the Fallout franchise completely to Bethesda Softworks a few years ago. However that agreement had a clause that gave Interplay the rights to make an MMO based on the post-apocalypse RPG series if certain conditions were met.

In Interplay's annual 10-k report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission this week they state Bethesda Softworks, " . . . Intends to terminate the trademark license agreement . . . for the development of FALLOUT MMOG." The agreement stated that the game had to be in full scale development by now and that Interplay had to secure funding to continue to develop the game. Just a few days ago, Interplay announced an agreement with Masthead Studios to co-fund and co-develop "Project V: 13" (which most people believe is the code name for the Fallout MMO). That announcement could have been a last-ditch attempt to keep the agreement from being broken. However at the moment it doesn't look good for the future of this project.

[Via No Mutants Allowed]